Way Back When
by saddestboi
Summary: When Harry turns up on Draco's doorstep one night, old feelings might just surface again. ll 19 years later.


_A/N So... I deleted my last drarry fic. I just... eeehhh idk where I was going with that one. Hopefully, this one will go a bit better. Enjoy!_

It was almost midnight when a loud knock startled Draco Malfoy. He put his newspaper down and looked at his wife.

"Did you hear that?", he asked.  
"I also thought I heard something," Astoria said, "You don't think something's wrong with Scorpius-?"  
"Nah, they would've sent an owl. But who by Merlin, at this time..."

Another knock. Draco took off his reading glasses and put on his slippers. Astoria reached over to his night stand to pass him his wand.

"Be careful," she said with a stern look on her face.

Draco nodded.  
A third knock erupted from the front door just as Draco was halfway down the stairs. Clearly, someone had used magic to make their knocks louder than humanly possible. A strange feeling overcame him. With his wand raised, he approached the door. Ready to cast _Stupefy_, he opened it, but –

"Potter?"  
"I thought we were on a first name basis," Harry Potter said, shaking in the cold of the autumn night.  
"Not any more," Draco said, pictures from years ago running through his head, "What's gotten into you? It's almost midnight."  
"I'm going to tell Ginny."

Draco's face fell.

"You _what_?"  
"Are you going to ask me to come inside? It's freezing out here."  
"No," Draco said, despite how cold he was getting from the crisp air blowing inside.  
"Well, in that case I'd better be off. I didn't plan on dying of hypothermia tonight."  
"For Merlin's sake, fine. Come in," Draco said, stepping aside so Potter could get in, "You have five minutes."  
"Like I said: I'm telling Ginny."  
"But why? Why now? We called it quits nine years ago," Draco said, keeping his voice low.  
"We called it quits a lot of times," Potter said.  
"We called it quits _for good_ nine years ago," Draco corrected himself.  
"I cheated on her, Draco," Draco winced as Potter referred to him by his first name, "It eats me alive. It keeps me up at night."  
"You seemed to be doing nicely with that the nine years we...", Draco's voice trailed off.  
"You don't know what that's like," Potter said.  
"I don't?"  
"No, you don't. Your wife knows, doesn't she, she knows you're gay, she knows you only married her to keep a literal straight face in front of your parents and so you could produce a heir to the Malfoy family line."  
"I love her," Draco asserted.  
"But not the way-"

Steps on the stairs made the pair turn around. Astoria was halfway down the stairs when she stopped.

"Who is it, I thought I heard you talking to someone- oh."

Her eyes wandered from Draco to Potter and back. Draco could practically feel what she was thinking.

"Don't worry, darling. Potter was just about to leave," Draco said.  
"So I take it you're okay with it, then. Me telling Ginny."  
"Tell your wife what?", Astoria asked.  
"You know exactly what I mean."

Draco turned to his wife for help. She gasped loudly.

"You can't do that! She'll tell her best friend! Her brothers! It'll ruin us! Ruin Draco!"

Astoria clutched her chest and started breathing heavily. Draco quickly came to her aid, guiding her up the stairs and back to the bedroom. When he returned to the foot of the stairs, where Potter was standing, he pulled his wand and pressed it against Potter's chin.

"My wife is dying," he hissed, "We don't need that kind of stress. When we ended it nine years ago, I wanted you out of my life."  
"So given the opportunity, you wouldn't want me back?"

Draco hesitated. The answer to that was not as clear of a no as it should have been.

"No," he finally said, as calmly as he possibly could.  
"Really?", Potter asked, and Draco saw a brief flicker of disappointment on his face.  
"Yes, really. Now get out of my house. And don't you dare tell your wife even a single word."  
"I'm going to tell her, Draco, and you can't stop me, short of killing me."  
"I just might," Draco said, with his wand still raised.  
"You'd rather go to Azkaban than have your dirty little secret exposed?"  
"In all honesty, yes. My parents, my whole family – what's left of it – would make my life a living hell. Not to mention the consequences Astoria would have to face if people found out she knowingly married a gay man. I might not love her the traditional way, but believe it or not, I do deeply care about her."  
"I'll be sure to tell Ginny not to tell anyone."  
"Yeah, I'm sure that'll work out great," Draco said sarcastically.  
"Draco, listen, I don't exactly want a lot of people to know, either. I'm sure my friends could live with me being bisexual, but having an affair with _you_? Ron would lose his mind!"  
"But they're your friends. They'll stick with you through everything. I don't have any friends to speak of that I wouldn't lose if I was outed."  
"Sounds like you need new friends."

Draco sighed, finally putting his wand down.

"I'm sick of arguing this. You've overstepped your five minutes. I don't want you to tell your wife, but I can't seem to convince you not to. Just know – you might ruin my entire life if you do."


End file.
